2012 SOCAR audit may require int'l estimate of oil, gas reserves
The development of an audit report on financial and economic activities of Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR for 2012 may require an international assessment of oil and gas field reserves, SOCAR Vice President Suleyman Gasimovtold Trend news agency.
"This issue has not yet been raised. However, for the preparation of an audit report on the results of 2012, Ernst & Young may request an international assessment of oil and gas fields. This assessment is not carried out every year. We want to conduct a new assessment due to the discovery of Umid, Absheron and other gas fields," Gasimov said.
According to him, a tender can be held to determine the appraisal company.
"Up to now, assessment of our deposits was held by the U.S. company Miller & Land. Maybe the assessment will be carried out by this company, but it is possible that we will define a new appraiser based on a tender. Representatives of the relevant departments are currently implementing preliminary work. Assessment is to be made before the provision of an audit report in the first half of the next year," Gasimov said.
SOCAR and its foreign partners are involved in such major projects as the development of the block of oil and gas fields Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli and Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea.
At present, SOCAR is very successfully developing markets in Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Switzerland, where it implements major projects related to the construction of oil refineries, construction and acquisition of service stations. Markets of Central Asia will soon become another area of SOCAR's activity and the launch of refinery construction in Kyrgyzstan with a capacity of two million tons per year has already been agreed.
SOCAR is co-owner of the largest Turkish petrochemical complex Petkim. The company carries out the oil trade in various regions of the world through SOCAR Trading.